Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Where is my shoulder?

I came to God one night when I was feeling low. It was one of those nights when the frustrations and disappointments of life was a little overpowering. I lied on my bed and all I wanted to do was cry.

I started to picture people crying on another's shoulder and being comforted with a gentle touch. And I said in frustration, "God where is my shoulder?"

And then this picture came to mind:

A song stand. Not a picture of arms open wide or sunshine but a song stand. You've got to be kidding me right God? This is the best you can give me? A song stand?

Then I was also reminded of a a chapter in the Bible, Psalms 13. It goes like this:

How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.

For most people, the reflex in sorrow is to look for a shoulder to pour out our frustrations on. Even if it isn't literally a shoulder and we don't literally cry, we love to vent. And that's exactly what I wanted to do that night -- vent.

But when I read the words of Psalms 13 and I saw the song stand, I knew God wanted me to do otherwise. He wanted me to sing. And it wasn't to sing about my troubles and depressed state but to sing of His goodness and unfailing love.

I grabbed a guitar and I did just that. And it was one of the best worship I had. I remember the comfort that came as I declared God's faithfulness and how unfailing love turned from lyrics into an overflow of faith in my heart.

When you choose to vent, you pour out your sorrows. But when you choose to sing, to sincerely worship the goodness of God; you're allowing God to pour in His love.

That night I learned to trust God a little more. I asked for a shoulder but He gave me a song. And I couldn't ask for anything better, wouldn't you agree?

God Loves You

picture taken from:

Friday, November 19, 2010

What a Beautiful Name


How many of you guys have heard this before?

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe" (Proverbs 18:30 NKJV)

When I was younger (not that I am old now of course :P), I didn't really appreciate this promise in the bible. I knew it was there but I just did get it. I mean a name is a name right? How am I supposed to run into a name and be safe?

But when God showed me the meaning of the promise it blew me away. He showed me that the secret in appreciating that promise wasn't in the action of running into the name but rather in the meaning of the Name.

"The name of the LORD" mentioned here is Yahweh or Jehovah, which means The Existing One or as bible writers wrote, "The I Am". "I Am"; what an awesome name! It tells of our God who has existed from the beginning of time and will be around till the end of time. It tells us that we can expect God to be our hope, our security and our foundation for the rest of our lives and then some.

It means when you put your trust in God, you're not going to be disappointed.

The name of God reflects His nature. So when you call out "LORD" or you're looking at the name "LORD" in a difficult time, you are calling on and looking at the unchanging faithfulness and unfailing love of your Heavenly Dad.

And it gets better (yes I kid you not, it gets better).

We have an even better name to run into today; the name that is the called the name above every other name, the best name to every exist and will ever exist - Jesus. Do a quick search and you'll find that Jesus means "God is my saviour". Wow! So that means every time we say Jesus we're saying "God is my saviour"! Every time you run out of words to say and you desperately cry out "Jesus!" you're saying "God is my saviour, He will come through for me, He saves! God is my saviour!".

Now I see how a name can change everything. And thinking of all those desperate times when I couldn't pray anymore and all I could say was "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." I now know those were words put in my heart by God. That was God asking me to put my hope in a beautiful name. If you're in a tough time, just call on the awesome name of our God and before you know you know it, you'll find yourself safe in the arms of the Father.

GOD LOVES YOU.